May 2005
Information Update
The National Educational Welfare Board
The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) was established in 2002 and has a statutory function to ensure that every child either attends a school or otherwise receives an education. In particular, the Board has a key role in following up on children who are not attending school regularly, and where there is a concern about the child's educational welfare.
The Board also has responsibility for children who are being educated outside of schools (e.g. at home) and 16-17 year olds who leave school to take up employment.
The Board is appointed by the Minister for Education & Science and its members are drawn from teachers, school management, parents, agencies and services who work with young people and a number of relevant Government Departments.
Our Ethos
The Board was set up under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000. The Act is a progressive piece of legislation which takes an enlightened approach to the promotion of school attendance. The ethos of the Board follows the Act. Instead of admonishing children and parents for non-attendance the NEWB works hard to get to the root of problems behind non-attendance. For example, a child might be sick; there might be financial issues in the home; there might be a death in the family or a child may not want to go to school because he or she is being bullied. Issues such as these need to be addressed if a child's individual attendance issues are to be solved in the long-term.
The work of educational welfare officers builds on the work of the school and the various support services than operate at both school and community levels. Some schools are better resourced than others through a range of non statutory schemes such as Home/School/Community/Programme and School Completion Programme that are available in the most disadvantaged areas. Educational welfare officers work closely with these services at a local level.
Strategic focus 2005 - 2007
NEWB has a clear strategic focus to guide its development. The Board's Strategic Plan 2005-2007 "every day counts" aims to build a strong organisation that can deliver on its duty to children, schools and families. The Strategic Goals adopted by the Board are as follows:
To implement a prevention strategy that will build a culture of attendance and participation among all children and families
To make a strong evidence-based case to Government to fast-track the manpower requirements of the Board, build its capacity and enable it to deliver high quality educational welfare services
To build strong partnerships and collaborative working practices with state and community organisations, and increase the synergy with other educational investments, particularly in disadvantaged areas
To ensure that resources and interventions maximise outcomes for children by developing evidence-based policy and practice
To be a learning organisation that will support and develop its staff
Research shows that prevention and early intervention are more likely to be effective and the Board will be emphasising these aspects in its work over the next two years.
Our Service
A central priority for the Board has been the establishment and building of the National Educational Welfare Service. The NEWB's network of Educational Welfare Officers (EWOs) is the key means by which the Board delivers on its statutory remit to ensure that each child attends and benefits from education.
At present 73 Educational Welfare Officers work in communities throughout the country acting as advocates or supports to parents, guardians and children experiencing difficulty with school attendance or educational welfare.
In the initial stage of development, priority was given to the most disadvantaged areas (RAPID 1) with significant school going populations. EWOs provide an intensive service in these areas. Outside of these areas, a lesser service is provided and priority is given to children who are out of school or who have significant non attendance.
In following up on individual children, a check is made on the work done by schools and their staff. EWOs will usually contact the principal or other designated person about each child before making contact with the home. A unique feature of the EWOs work is their ability to develop a meaningful relationship with a young person and their family. Home visits play an essential role in this process and the first knock on the door by an Educational Welfare Officer, very often opens up a pathway of solutions for a child and family in need. Once any underlying problems are identified the EWO can then seek to address the family's unique set of circumstances, if necessary in conjunction with school staff and other local support services.
If a child is out of school, there is a legal imperative on the Board to make other arrangements for the child's education in consultation with the parents and the Department.
Legal Sanctions
Where parents are failing in their duty to educate their children, the Board has powers to compel them to send their children to school. These powers are being applied in situations where a parent is not co-operating and where all other options have failed to improve attendance.The first prosecutions against parents were taken in early 2006.
Making an impact
NEWB operates through 5 regional teams each of which is headed by a regional manager. A service is provided from 26 locations nationwide.
The following gives an indication of the work undertaken by the Board over the past 3 years:
Improvement in school attendance: attendance at school in the areas where EWOs are working intensively improved by 4% in 2004/2005 (the first full year of the service) over the previous year.
Cases resolved: 20,000 cases involving students with reported school attendance difficulties have been resolved since January 2004
Communication with families: NEWB has written to every family with children of school going age advising them of their rights and responsibilities in relation to education and school attendance and where they can get help.
National Education Helpline: The NEWB has set-up the country's first national educational helpline* (1890 36 36 66), which is manned by trained Educational Welfare Officers and provides practical help to parents and schools on educational issues. 5,000 calls are dealt with annually by this service.
Data on the levels of non attendance: the first national data has been collected and professionally validated on the levels of non attendance at primary and post primary schools - see below.
School Implementation Group: The School Implementation Group - which includes parents, principals and teachers, provides advice to the NEWB both on general priorities and on any materials and guidelines to be specifically distributed to schools. The group's role is to help ensure that those materials are usable, practical and appropriate to already busy school schedules.
School protocol: work is underway with schools on a protocol that will clarify respective responsibilities and expectations about school attendance.
School attendance strategies: work has commenced on guidelines for schools on developing attendance strategies and the prevention of student absenteeism.
Codes of behaviour: work is advanced on guidelines for schools on codes of behaviour an area of great concern to both schools and parents.
Guidance for schools: All schools have received guidance on the legislation and the reporting of student absences and expulsions. A new website, www.schoolreturn.ie, has also been established which enables schools to manage and report absences in a safe and efficient way.
Research on school attendance: a research programme is underway that will support the Board in its planning and service development.
Education outside of recognised schools: The first assessments of children being educated in places other than in recognised schools (e.g. the home) have been carried out by authorised persons specifically trained for the work. Almost 200 children are now registered apart from those children attending private primary schools.
Young people who leave school early to take up employment: Preparatory work is continuing in relation to the establishment of a register for 16 - 17 year olds who leave school to enter employment.
Absenteeism: The Facts
Since the inception of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, schools are obliged by law to submit a report to NEWB on levels of school attendance.
2004/2005 is the second year for which this data has been collected and validated.
Key findings of the "Analysis of School Attendance Data at Primary and Post-Primary Level 2004/2005 include:
10% of all primary school students (approximately 47,000 students) miss more than 20 days from school each year or 11% of the school year
19 % of all post-primary school students (approximately 37,000 students under 16) miss more than 20 days from school each year or 12% of the school year
Every primary school student misses on average 10 days in the school year; in the most disadvantaged urban areas, the average absence is 17 days per student
Every post-primary student on average misses 14 days in the school year; in the most disadvantaged areas, the average absence is 21 days for each student
While attendance is lower in areas of disadvantage, it is a national issue affecting all communities.
These reports are available on our website.
The Costs of Absenteeism
Absenteeism is one of the strongest factors associated with early school leaving and it has serious costs for individuals, for families, for the State, for teachers and schools:
High levels of absenteeism can lead to poor achievement and poor educational outcomes. Children who leave school early tend not to reengage with education subsequently and therefore remain at a disadvantage throughout their lives.
The costs to the State and society can include the loss of the contribution these young people could have made over their lifetime, the potentially higher levels of draw down of State benefits increase risk of involvement in anti-social activity and crime, and poorer physical and mental health.
High levels of absenteeism will tend to reduce the impact of the State's investment in education and, in particular, the investment in addressing educational disadvantage.
There are significant costs for teachers and for schools, in terms of the time spent investigating absences, and in working to reduce absences and the time spent helping absent students to catch up on gaps in their learning. Students who attend school regularly can miss out also, as more of class time is devoted to helping those who missed days at school.
NEWB Board
The following is the current membership of the Board:
Dr. Ann Louise Gilligan (Chairperson), St.Patrick's College, Drumcondra
Mr Eddie Ward, Chief Executive Officer
Mr Brendan Callaghan, Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform
Mr Declan Dunne, Ballymun Partnership
Ms Fionnuala Kilfeather, National Parents Council
Mr Gerry Mangan, Department of Social & Family Affairs
Mr Fergal McCarthy, Teacher Unions
Mr Ian Murphy, Department of Education & Science
Mr Gus O'Connell, FAS
Mr Donal O'Connor, Educational Welfare Officers
Mr Gearoid Ó Maoilmhichil, Voluntary Bodies
Sr. Eileen Randles, School Management Organisations
Mr Seamus Moore, Health Service Executive
NEWB Management Team
Outlined below are the NEWB's management team:
Mr Eddie Ward, Chief Executive Officer
Ms Laura Slevin, Director of Corporate Services
Ms Eileen Fahey, Acting Director of Educational Services
Corporate Services Managers:
Ms Mairead Nalty, Human Resources and Training Manager
Mr Noel O'Connell, Acting IT Manager
Mr Seamus McSorely, Facilities / Services Manager
Ms Rosena McShane, Finance Manager
Ms Elaine O'Mahoney, Communications Manager
Educational Welfare Services Managers:
Colin Fallon, Regional Manager, Dublin City
Michael Doyle, Regional Manager, Leinster North
Jean Rafter, Regional Manager, Leinster South
Dan O'Shea, Regional Manager, Munster
Colette McGlynn, Acting Regional Manager, West / North West
Contact Us
If you need to contact educational welfare staff, our contact details are below:
Head Office /
Dublin City / Leinster North/Ulster / Leinster South / Munster / West/North West
* Note that the rates charged for the use of 1890 (LoCall) numbers may vary among different service providers
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